and CONGRATS! remember the rule...you only tell people what you placed, not how many people were in the race! up here where i live they have a marathon that for years only had 5 people running it. good odds.

as for me, i think i might take my entire 41st year on earth off from racing and just enjoy actually running and hiking, cycling, swimming, SUPing etc! lately i just kinda want to do what i wanna do and not feel like i HAVE to. just getting a bit tired of challenging myself all the time! but i have my Ride to Conquer Cancer in a month...only done 1 cycle of 65k and it went well. wasn't really sore or tired. i think the inside of my arse cheeks were a bit sore but they'll be tougher by mid-June.

as for my schedule, i was doing crossfit-type stuff 2-3xweek for about 30-40min each session then 1 long run, and 2 sprint/hill sessions. so i followed a CF-endurance-like schedule. worked for me!

@meloroaster I am not racing much either. I am just going to save it for "trip" type events that I do with my relay team or go for a girls weekend or something. I really love running all these dogs during the day. I had 19 miles this past Wed--spread out over several hours and 4 dogs.

Today I kind of started shaking with anxiety because I wanted to try to walk up and sign up for a 10 mile trail race that I ran last year. And it is perfect morning to run trail-in the low 60's and sunny. But I need a break. And my doggy clients are numerous today because of the holiday weekend. I think it is the first day I have slept until 7 in a long time.

I'm having pain along the inside front of my left leg that goes down to my ankle. Yuck. I am going to baby it a little this week. It is a good week to do it because I am going up to sit with my mother in law in ICU. I will be there Mon-Fri.

I love those small races with just 5-10 people in your age group. It is so pleasant to run a small race. Maybe I will seek more out.

@relaygirl you know your 19miles spread out with 4 dogs sounds like heaven to me!!

also, i think it's really important to take breaks. i should do it more too.

sooooo, i did a 44km "ride the tide" SUP yesterday. although with headwinds, not much to "ride"! it took 9hours! unbelievable. a bit crazy really cause there was only 1 exit point (2 people took it) that would still require stashing your board and hiking out to the highway for 15min and hitching back to civilization. to say it was an epic endurance test is a huge understatement! i'm surprised i'm not more sore, just a bit out of it and chaffed under the arms.

@meloroaster-the question of the day is--What did you eat on your epic ride?

Yesterday I had a carb reload day...or in other words I binged on ice cream! I suck. It was the good stuff-organic limited ingredients but I consumed a boat load. I let my kids have a little bit

My plans have been off and on to go up and sit with my mother in law in the hospital. But I think I am going on Thursday. I might just do the rapid weight loss protocol from Bulletproof Diet --doesn't really work for me to lose weight BUT I wouldn't have to worry about procuring food on the road and it would save money.

@relaygirl the answer is...NOT ENOUGH! i had 2 coconut Larabars, 1 banana, 1 apple, some beef jerky, 1 water bottle, 1 water bottle with 1/2 coconut water. if i had Vega gels i would have brought those and if i had known it was going to take 9h i would have brought more carbs for sure...dried fruit and nuts at least!

so, i'm just gonna say it...you are strong and fierce relaygirl...don't focus on weight loss! nothing against bulletproof...i think it's a pretty good paleo modification...i'm actually kinda drinking a bulletproof coffee right now. but it seems like you are in great health and i would hate it for that to be distracted by not attaining some ideal weight. i'm in the process of letting go of the fact that my healthy body type includes a little extra roll around the middle. but i am strong and healthy and the only time that went away was when i basically didn't eat for a month. not exactly healthy.

anyway, i wish i could binge on ice cream!!! that would kill my gut. just can't tolerate it. sads.

i just found this on the Mayo Clinic website:

"No studies on the long-term effects of DHEA have been conducted. DHEA can cause higher than normal levels of androgens and estrogens in the body, and theoretically may increase the risk of prostate, breast, ovarian, and other hormone-sensitive cancers. Therefore, it is not recommended for regular use without supervision by a licensed health professional."

@meloroaster I think I must be out of balance hormone wise for this belly fat. So I was reading about the DHEA. I need to suck it up and find a dr. to run a panel on me.

It is really insane. My legs keep getting even more kick a** and my belly gets jigglier (is that a word?) I am really just going nuts here. I am going to have to buy new shorts And I know this is really, really selfish of me but I was going to be even more upset if I had to go buy a new dress because my mother in law died because none of last years fit. But praise God, she is still with us (very ill) AND I did not have to go get a new dress.

Yes, I am very healthy. So I will kind of repeat that in my head over and over. I work hard and I am sure I exude that healthy glow I think people are definitely drawn to that and they don't even know it--my husband says that about me which is very sweet since the rest of the time he is a bump on a log.

I know my abs are rocking under this fat! They have got to be. I am killing my weighted planks. Okay, I am done complaining today.

Except, my injured ankle/foot---I am ignoring it until after my relay 3rd week of June. I don't want to find a stress fracture and pull myself out of the race. I will just find it AFTER my race I limited trained today (rows, bench press, ropes, planks) and walked with the dogs instead of run. I am going to sit with MIL so I will be off for a week-no running doggy clients.

I am definitely a running junkie-I get the shakes when I see all the people out running and I want to be there with them so badly. One of my favorite trail races is in South Georgia this weekend.

I might start pool running to give my foot a break. Last time I tried this it did not feel effective-my technique I'm sure was poor. But I read that there are so many benefits to it. It is hilarious going to the aquatic center wearing my tankini with a skirt (I have to tuck the ends up in the pool) with all the bald men doing their tri training. I laugh the whole time. I just don't like revealing my goods for everyone.

i am missing running a lot lately...although JUST starting to enjoy some longer bike rides to prep for the ride to conquer cancer. after that's done mid-june i'll be back to running and either do a 10k or half mid july. i kinda want to see how i would fair for the half...but going to do what i 'feel' like doing as opposed to what i feel i 'should' do.

i hear you re. belly fat. i am really trying to focus on how i approach it. mainly cause i don't want to waste time focusing on minor body imperfections just so that in my 50s, 60s i complain about how i didn't value my rocking body in my late 30s/early 40s!! so i'm looking at my little extra roll as a key part of ME and onw that deserves the love. after all it is protecting that oh-so-important middle reproductive area!! everytime i feel like i should suck it in. i push it out a bit and think that anyone who gets their hands on it is a lucky dude.

i'm just tired of wanting it to go away. it's been forever. so i'm just gonna stop wanting it to go away.

anyhoo, relaygirl i had a stress fracture after not enough recovery time once so please be careful!!!! not worth being out of commission for months. i had to completely stop running at least 6weeks. pool running would be awesome though! and i say REVEAL THE GOODS! fact is, probably no one is looking.

meloroaster can you do the 10k and half both in July I can suck in my belly fat-I suck in and it is less but still there. I think that is the c section area.

I was reading the q & a on the front page about the gall bladder-I ordered the lypo gold someone mentioned in the comments. I have used papaya and ox bile in the past but I just could not tell a difference. I do not have a problem digesting my fats without my gallbladder but I am wondering if I am absorbing them correctly.

OMG-I got poison ivy in my trail half a few weeks ago and it has erupted!!! I usually do not wear compression socks-I feel so tightly confined in them and HOT. They said they had cleared the trail 3 times so I just wore regular socks. It is on my right ankle and I think it is infected.

Okay, so I sat Thurs-Mon with my mother in law in the hospital. She is on the 7th floor. I never take the elevator. I went back and forth to the car and out for short coffee runs, etc so I ended up taking the stairs 6 or 7 times a day. 1 day I found a taller tower and went 17 flights. That is all the exercise I did. And I walked them-not run. My ankle still hurt after that. I have an appointment with my friend who is an ortho on Friday.

I have had a stress fracture and there was no 6 weeks about it--it was 6 months!!! Cast, boot, crutches, wheelie cart to get around. It sucked. It was in my left heel. But at the time I was probably doing 60-70 miles a week plus plyo which my body does not like.

Okay, the rapid fat weight loss protocol- Bulletproof Rapid Fat Loss Protocol: How to Lose Fat Way Faster Than You Should It really worked. But I am about to throw up just thinking about it. Of course, I was on the road so my coffee choices were full of the mycotoxins that Dave says is the root of the problem. I would basically have a BP coffee 4-5 times a day and that is it. It says to go 6 days and then refeed but not like a blowout-just good carbs of sweet potatoes, rice lots of protein. That is what I am doing today.

The results are very similar to the protein fast I did. I feel the same but did not have to eat all the time. It was good for traveling but I was not able to blend my coffees like I do at home in the vitamix. So I brought my shaker cup but it just wasn't good this time. It was fine last relay I did. Yesterday I dreaded drinking the coffee. This morning I could not make a BP coffee even though I am home with my vitamix. Since I am eating today I blended 2 tbl of coconut milk-just the stuff on top and a drop of xylitol and mixed it-it was good.

I am back to running and training on Thursday so I will just eat regular Bulletproof and maybe eat starchy carbs deliberately in 6 days again. I've got to hack the fat. I am obsessed with it now. I am going to eat a ton of cherries today too and wait until day 6 to have them again. I will eat just meat and veg with the IF BP coffee regimen and see how it goes.

Running 8 tomorrow at high noon in the heat. I hate it when I train in the peak of the heat but it definitely gets me ready for August races.

oh man relaygirl that 'diet' sounds like torture! i love me a bulletproof coffee but all day for 6 days!?! oof.
glad it worked and if you felt ok then good on ya.

re the race...well only 1 here in july so i have to pick 10km or half...i'll probably do the half but kinda slow. just to support them and get in a nice long run.

otherwise i have fallen way off the wagon lately. eating candy and cookies that have been at meetings/office. oof. i am suffering for it but am having a hard time stopping. it's weird cause when i slip i normally get back on pretty quickly. having a hard time this time and feel like i am eating way too many carbs, especially the bad ones!
really need to snap out of it, but won't give myself too hard a time. will try to clean up in prep for hte 240km ride in 10 days!
maybe i just need to up my protein and fat to satiate myself. oh well. it's all good.

tonight it's an 8km run and 20min WOD post-run at the gym. followed by spot prawns for dinner...mmmm.

Wow, I'm really falling apart here right before my big race that I have been training for ALL YEAR! I have a head to toe rash. I am the auto immune bomb that we are all trying to avoid. I can't believe this. Something is systemically wrong with me. I itch like crazy. I finally went to the dr. and I am on steroids. I am a puffy mess at all my joints. I have been backing off running because of tendinitis.

This is not the health and mindset of an athlete!!!

I have been lifting well though. I finally felt in total control of my squats--it has taken 3 years I was doing really well on my 1 foot at a time drills and then the tendinitis set in so I am being very careful before my race. I do mountain climbers on the slide board too and these always are so, so hard-they are easier now.

Okay, not going to fall apart, not going to fall apart, not going to fall apart.